Higher education marketing is about building long-term relationships. Much of the marketing and advertising world is designed for fairly quick product sales, from the newest portable DVD player to the newest BMW. Even most service marketing, which has a strong component of relationship building, is still concerned with building what looks more like serial short-term relationships than real commitment.

Though most companies will tell you that they would like to develop long-term relationships with their customers, in higher education our ability to build relationships that last for years defines our success. Moreover, we have the need to continually provide customer service and quality assurance for a single product (education) with many features (courses) and benefits (skill development, career preparation, etc.) over the course of one of the longest product cycles in any field.

We are constantly evaluating our students and being evaluated by them. We and they continually examine whether we want to continue the relationship with them, and they to us. There will be harmonious times, there will be arguments.

There is an area of human endeavor where this type of relationship building is common: romantic relationships. In his book Question Based Selling, Thomas Freese makes this point:

“Some people call dating ‘the ultimate sale.’ That’s a fair description because just like sales, dating is a positioning ritual that either brings the potential partners closer together or drives them farther apart.”

Like dating, we cannot simply walk up to another person and propose a
relationship. We have to earn it. As Freese writes:

“Relationships are an integral part of the Conversational Layering model,
but you will notice that the sales process doesn’t begin with a
relationship. Salespeople must first earn the right to engage.”

To return to the subject of higher education, think of your marketing from the perspective of the prospect. What is your institution’s marketing style? Is it a relationship-building style? Are you borrowing too much from product marketing with screaming headlines, premiums and response mechanisms? Are you borrowing too much from service marketing with complicated consultative sales systems and too much focus on getting the contract signed? How much of your marketing works to create the “right to engage”? How much credibility is built during your contacts with prospective students?

These questions require serious thought, especially for colleges and universities in
highly competitive environments. Of course, higher education marketing is
different than dating, but the principles are similar. Students are
evaluating your offer, balancing it against hopes and financial ability, and
trying to decide if your college or university is a place where he or she
can spend a third or more of their daily life for the next several years. Your marketing is the beginning of a long term relationship and as with the
beginning of any new relationship, your prospects are reading a lot into
your initial communications.

Communication is the essential ingredient of any relationship-building. Branding through images and logos may attract initial interest, but a brand can only take your institution so far. Your copy helps prospects take the next step. It can make the difference between an effective marketing plan, one that leads to enrollments, and one that fails. At no point should the wording of admissions letters and emails be an afterthought. Web copy should be examined for efficiency and effectiveness in communicating to the intended demographic. Everything in your institution, from how you answer the phone to your viewbook and catalog is a marketing message that should be unified in purpose, working together to create an environment where communication can be enhanced and relationships built.

If your marketing message is unclear, start working today to clarify it. If
your marketing style is too aggressive, or not aggressive enough, change it. Considering the modern marketing only came to be embraced by colleges and universities in the last decade or so, “because we’ve always done it that way” is a poor reason to put up with lackluster marketing copy. As you work to improve your marketing message, keep an eye on the most important aspect: relationships.

P.S. Freese’s Question Based Selling is a book on sales strategy and tactics based on psychology and communications theory. I have found it easily adapted to higher education admissions and recruiting, and I frequently use the book as a guide when I give sales training courses to admissions counselors. I have no financial interest in QBE or Freese’s other products, but I do recommend them to anyone in sales or recruiting who is looking for an effective method of approaching prospects.